


Chasing Daydreams

by Cat__Astrophe



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternative Universe - Kingdom, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Steve Rogers, Oblivious Tony Stark, One Shot, Pining, Princes & Princesses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 10:41:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19990810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cat__Astrophe/pseuds/Cat__Astrophe
Summary: ✧ ─────── ♡ ─────── ✧“Promise you’ll be there?” He mumbled into Steve’s chest.“Of course.”“Good.” Tony separated from Steve but his hand was still gently gripping the blond’s wrist. “Because the party only starts when I arrive, and I’m obviously not going if you won’t be there.”Steve felt the brunet’s hand slip down to graze his, and he let it linger there for a second before it was suddenly pulled away from him. He could only hope that he had hidden his disappointment well.Fortunately, Tony didn’t seem to notice Steve’s abrupt drop in mood.✧ ─────── ♡ ─────── ✧After years of pining for the brunet, Steve was finally going to get his chance to confess his feelings for Tony. If only he could find him in the crowd of masked-people first...Luckily, when his hopeless crush is nowhere to be found, Steve meets a beautiful stranger to keep him company throughout the night.✧ ─────── ♡ ─────── ✧





	Chasing Daydreams

**Author's Note:**

> ✧ ─────── ♡ ─────── ✧
> 
> Just in case anyone gets confused: This is a Medieval-ish AU where the Avengers are all royalty and they each rule a kingdom are are allied together in the land called S.H.I.E.L.D. Don't judge my kingdom names; I know they're stupidly cringey, lmao.
> 
> Minor or background relationships are not always consistent throughout all of my fanfictions. They may change depending on the storyline's circumstances.
> 
> Thanks to my friend, (you know who you are), for just lending me your support every day until the end of the line.
> 
> Also, thanks to Admin Jouta (otp-fanfic-ideas) on Tumblr for their masquerade-ball writing prompt! I may have changed it up a bit to make it a little more subtle to better suit my storyline — I hope no one minds too much. Thank you!
> 
> This was also posted on Wattpad on my account: ChaoticCosmos.
> 
> Lastly, thank you — the reader — for choosing to read my overly-comprehensive story about two idiots in love! Out of all the ones you could be spending your precious time enjoying, on both Wattpad and Ao3, you chose mine, and I’m infinitely grateful for your willingness to try it out.
> 
> ✧ ─────── ♡ ─────── ✧
> 
> Love you all 3,000!
> 
> ( ˘ ³˘)💗
> 
> 𝒞𝒶𝓉.
> 
> ✧ ─────── ♡ ─────── ✧

“Tony! Can’t you wait one second so I can at least finish my breakfast, first?” Steve complained while clutching his honey-biscuit and tried to act sour so Tony could slow down from his excited pace.

“Oh come on, Steve! Breakfast can wait; this can’t!”

Steve sighed, quickly swallowing down the last bit of his meal before running after the brunet, occasionally stopping to greet some of the gardeners that had already started working in the castle gardens.

Tony had barged into Steve’s room in the Americandian castle, at 7 AM in the morning, and practically dragged the blond down through his own castle’s garden, to show him something that he had apparently “just discovered the other day.” Normally, Steve would refuse to leave the comfort of the castle grounds without eating a whole meal first, but this was Tony who he was following, and Steve would honestly follow him to the ends of the Earth.

“Hurry up, Capsicle!” The genius shouted, directing his voice to Steve, who was right behind him. “It’s right outside of the castle gardens!”

Steve groaned at the mention of the nickname that Tony had given to him when they were children. The horrendous idea came together in Tony’s mind after a certain horse trodding by — that the previous Captain of the Royal Guards had been riding on — broke an icicle from a nearby rooftop, which fell on top of Steve’s head while the two of them were playing outside in the snow. Thankfully, he had only received a mild bruise that lasted a few days, but the humiliation that he had suffered through after the incident persisted on for over a month. Steve knew that Tony only called him that to get on his nerves, but the thought of the accident, even after all these years, was still able to bother him. Sometimes, Tony’s insanely-smart brain was a curse to all the kingdoms combined.

He halted in front of a grand overhang of leaves and branches growing from an enormous tree right beside a miniature, glistening river. Vines creeped up its trunk, adding to the scenery and the wall of vegetation that Tony was presently peeking through.

The genius grabbed Steve’s hand and hauled him through the leaves, undisturbed by the amount of plants that brushed past their bodies as they came to a stop in a clearing right under the shade of the giant tree. A small bridge sloped up and over the river that Steve had seen earlier, its metal railing glimmered with a fresh coat of midnight-black paint and it’s oak-wooden planks creaked under the pressure of their feet.

The view was breathtaking. Almost as beautiful as the person who stood next to Steve, drinking in the sight of the landscape along with him.

Rushing water flowed underneath the bridge, mixing in with the natural sounds of the surrounding environment and the soft breathing of the two princes. Birds chirped and sang aloft their heads, the branches draped overhead rustled as a calm wind flew through them, and speckles of fire-orange sunlight soaked the emerald-colored grass in spots that seeped through the leaves of the tree above. Wild flowers and berry-bushes dotted the ground in vivid bursts of color and a faint, indescribable but pleasant, smell streamed through the air; the radiance of the entire sight constructed an almost romantic aura that enveloped the area in a welcoming warmth.

It would be a perfect place for a first date, Steve remarked in his head. But the only person he had in mind to spend time here was hilariously out of his league, anyways.

“I found this place not too long ago and I’ve been fixing it up little-by-little each time that I’ve visited the castle.” Tony revealed to him, his voice barely discernible. “I’m not a carpenter or a blacksmith, but I’ve managed to patch up the broken and rusted railing, reapply the paint, and reinforce the structure of the bridge. The only thing that I haven’t replaced yet, are the wooden boards.”

“This is unbelievable, Tony.” Steve exhaled in awe. “It’s stunning. I can’t believe you did all this.”

“Well, I just fixed it up a bit so technically _I_ didn’t do it at all, but thanks anyways.”

“I don’t care. I still think it’s astonishing, nonetheless.”

Tony smirked, “Well, I am quite skilled after all…”

“For Fury’s missing-eye’s sake, be quiet, Tony, and let’s just enjoy the view in silence for once.”

They propped themselves up against the railing, perceiving the untouched tranquility that was almost invisible against the noise and bustle of the nearby kingdom.

In the corner of his vision, he saw the brunet’s eyes glaze over in thought. A melancholic frown began to settle onto his face and Steve instantly started worrying.

“Tony?” He furrowed his eyebrows. “Are you alright? Was it something I said?”

“No! No, it’s not you… ‘M-probably just tired, I’m fine.”

For Steve, who had known Tony ever since they were infants — it was blatantly apparent that Tony was lying. However, any other person would immediately believe him and not catch a thing about the change in his tone or the way he started clenching his left fist in his right hand. Tony was a fairly good liar, but Steve had been observing his nervous ticks for longer than he could remember.

“Are you sure, Tones?” The blond questioned, concerned. “You don’t seem fine to me.”

“Oh, shut up, you worry-bug.” Tony swatted playfully at Steve’s offering hand. “I’m fine, I told you. I guess I’m just worried about tomorrow night.”

“Yeah… Big event, isn’t it?” Steve stretched, lazily. “It should be fun, though. With all the panic that’s starting to build up among the kingdoms due to Hydra’s nonstop rebel attacks, holding this ball should relieve some of the stress among our people.”

Tony hummed in response.

“Hey, shouldn’t you be preparing for the ball right now, anyways? Your kingdom is hosting it this year, so no-doubt that everyone’s trying to do their best in making the castle look presentable. Although, no castle should have this many red, white, and blue flowers out in the front yard.”

Steve rolled his eyes, “For the last time, Tony, it’s patriotic! It’s the colors of our kingdom, so personally, I think that there should be more flowers than what we currently have now.”

“Patriotic-my-ass.” He heard the genius mumble under his breath. “The only thing patriotic about them are how ugly they make your kingdom.”

“I heard that!” Steve shot Tony an unamused look.

“I meant for you to hear that,” He grinned, mischievously. “Anyways, I guess we both should get going now. Ugh, my parents will be furious when they find out that I had sneaked out of the castle before my ‘evening-attire-fitting’ just to come and visit you.”

The blond nodded, wanting to relish his time with Tony for a little longer, but decided that it would be best to return back to his royal duties.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at the gala, right?” Steve asked Tony, innerly-wishing that he didn’t have to leave so soon.

“Definitely.” Tony agreed while wrapping his arms around Steve’s torso and burying his face in his chest. Steve reciprocated by completing their embrace and locking his hands together behind Tony’s back; his nose buried in Tony’s floral-smelling hair. The touch of the genius’ head digging into the area right above his heart, sent shockwaves of emotion and desire through his body.

A satisfied sigh came out of Tony’s parted lips as he shifted to gaze in the direction of the castle.

“Promise you’ll be there?” He mumbled into Steve’s chest.

“Of course.”

“Good.” Tony separated from Steve but his hand was still gently gripping the blond’s wrist. “Because the party only starts when I arrive, and I’m obviously not going if you won’t be there.”

Steve felt the brunet’s hand slip down to graze his, and he let it linger there for a second before it was suddenly pulled away from him. He could only hope that he had hidden his disappointment well.

Fortunately, Tony didn’t seem to notice Steve’s abrupt drop in mood.

He strained a smile down at the genius. His eyes were met with the stare of two entrancing, magical chocolate orbs that shined with an enchantment that was brighter than all the sunset-clouds and the stars in the sky, combined.

_I love you, so fucking much,_ he wanted to tell him. It hurt like hell that he still didn’t have the courage to do so, after so fucking long.

“Sure, Tony. Whatever you say.”

“That’s right.” The younger one laughed and began to walk backwards, his attention still turned towards Steve. “Look, I have to go now. I’ll talk to you later, Steve.”

Tony spun around and ran off, abandoning Steve to drown in his overwhelmingly longing for him.

He stared at the spot where the brunet once stood and whispered a sentence that was never meant to be heard by only his one pair of ears.

“I love you.”

✧ ─────── ♡ ─────── ✧

“What’s got you in such a good mood, Steven?” His father, King Joseph, asked. “Were you thinking about Anthony again?”

The blond blushed furiously and ignored him as he entered the throne room, making a quick beeline for the grand staircase in a rush to his room.

“You were, weren’t you?” His mother, Sarah, pried. “You’re so in love, Stevie, it’s both humorous and obnoxious at the same time. But in a good way, of course.”

“Has it come to your attention, Steve, that Prince Tony may have possibly developed a love interest for someone else?” His father randomly told him. “I spoke with King Howard the other day, and he described a ‘longing’ look in his son’s eyes as he stared out the window while at a dinner party.”

Speechless, Steve felt his heart plummet down to the core of the Earth.

“Oh honey, don’t fret,” His mother reassured him, her voice rapidly bouncing across the empty room as she sent a glare at the king. “Even if Tony is seeing another person right now, I’m positive he’ll fall for your charm and dazzling character, sooner or later.”

He swiveled around to see the queen approaching him carefully.

“But what if he doesn’t?” Steve murmured anxiously, mainly to himself. “What if he never notices me ever again and runs off to be with this other person or a guest from the masquerade-ball, tomorrow? What if he falls so hard in love with someone else that he’ll forget about my existence altogether?”

“Don’t think like that, Stevie,” His mother gave him a firm hug. “That boy with begin to love you soon enough, just you wait. He’s just plain stupid if he still hasn’t perceived how caring and loving you are to him.”

“Ma, that’s entirely untrue, and you know that.” Steve sighed, a small smile inching onto his face as his mind began to fill up with thoughts of Tony. “He could never be stupid because every royal family in this world knows that he is by far, the most brilliant and creative royal to be born and raised, in centuries. He’s just too incredibly clever, especially for someone like me.”

Queen Sarah clucked her tongue in mirth, “Nonsense, Steven, that boy is truly oblivious if he still cannot notice your feelings for him, no matter what you do. I might as well have to slap him in the face with your bleeding heart before he realizes that you love him.”

“Please, Ma,” Steve groaned. “I know it’s wrong to force my emotions onto him, so I won’t, and you shouldn’t either. Please promise me, that you’ll let him choose for himself whether he wants to stay with me — just as a friend, or not.”

“Alright, alright.” Sarah shook her head and eyeballed her husband who sat cheekily on his throne, watching the mother and her son bicker, fondly.

“I’m well aware that Anthony is quite an extraordinary, young prince, but do tell me once more what it is that you see in him, Steven.” His father requested.

“I’m not sure what it is exactly, but…” Steve hesitated. “It’s just this…this absolute bliss that emerges from my heart and my guts whenever I’m around him, it feels so comforting. It’s like he’s subtlety rocking my heart back and forth without even realizing it, but it just feels so right.”

He paused to peer out the window, displaying a tender look as his hair was basked in a golden glow.

“Everything just feels right about him, Ma, Pa. I know this sounds foolish but he just fits so perfectly in my arms whenever I wrap them around him. He smells like my daydreams; filled with carnations and daises, and the fresh aroma of nature, and he looks like an absolute angel.” Steve breathed out. “Everything abut him is just so captivating, so astoundingly right; like he was made to fit into my embrace or made to be the perfect height for me to rest my head on top of his. It was like the universe created him flawlessly, just for me.”

His parents glanced at each other before turning back to their son, both with a wide, entertained smile on each of their faces.

Steve huffed out a frustrated breath of air and squeezed his eyes closed.

“If only he really was made for me… If only the cosmos would give me some kind of sign, some kind of confirmation, that me and him were just meant to be… but that hasn’t happened yet and I highly doubt that it’ll ever happen in my entire life.”

“Oh, Steven…” His mother cast him a dismayed expression. “Please have a little more confidence, darling — maybe he really is meant for you, and you just don’t realize it yet. Even if the two of you don’t work out, there are still plenty of fish left in the sea, honey.”

“I know, Ma.” Steve responded, his voice laced with self-pity. “But no one else is _him_ … and he’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

✧ ─────── ♡ ─────── ✧

Holding a masquerade ball to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the amalgamation of all six original kingdoms into the land that is now known as S.H.I.E.L.D., had seemed like a bad choice to the young prince at first, but Steve soon found himself impatiently itching for the evening to arrive so he could finally find Tony and ask him to dance with him, without having to worry about the brunet thinking he was unworthy of being seen with him.

_No, quit it, Tony would never think such a cruel thing_ , he scolded himself. But Steve knew that even he, himself, didn’t believe his own words.

His fear of rejection hadn’t caused Steve to be afraid of talking to Tony until he started noticing the brunet growing more and more distant with each passing day. Dreading the thought that Tony could be avoiding Steve because he found no interest in being his friend anymore, he began to distance himself from the other in return, hoping that if Tony really wanted to continue to stay by the blond’s side, he would come to Steve first.

That rarely happened, anymore.

Every day that separated the two of them tore a hole in Steve’s heart and he could only reminiscence about the times when he and Tony would go to each other when they were seeking help but were too afraid or embarrassed to explain their problems to their parents — or when they just simply missed each other’s presence. When they were young, the two of them frequently found themselves sneaking into each other’s bedrooms at night just because one of them had experienced a nightmare. From stealing each other’s food and hijacking each other’s training-horses, the two of them were basically inseparable. However, it all started changing when the two of them were advised to start looking for potential spouses for when they inherited their respective kingdoms in the future.

Kingdoms united in the S.H.I.E.L.D. coalition required royals, like kings and queens, to pass down their title and positions once their children had been married; many of the kingdoms have already assumed new rulers and the commoners of the alliance welcomed the new generation of royals with renewed joy with each individual coronation. By now, the only two kingdoms who haven’t officiated their successors were Americandia and New Ironingham: Steve and Tony’s kingdoms.

Their royal friends constantly joked about how they should marry each other in order to complete the final rounds of coronations, but Steve pretended that their comments didn’t stab just him in his lungs and proceeded to laugh at the joke along with everyone else. The pain in his chest devoured all his emotions every time he forced himself to act like it didn’t torture his heart when Clint mentioned Tony’s name and how he was last seen with Lady Whitney Stane, or when Natasha kept pushing him to confess his feelings to the genius before it was too late. The blond wanted to tell her that S.H.I.E.L.D. would probably collapse before he ever revealed his love for the brunet to his insanely-attractive face — but refrained from it and politely declined every time she nagged him to, “Just tell him already!”

Sometimes, on the infrequent occasions that Steve does spend time with Tony, each minute he’s next to the other prince feels like his entire body is being consumed by an excruciating pining; his heart aching for the one who was so close yet so far from his reach. He eventually rationalized with himself and supposed that it was a good thing that Tony seldom visited him anymore if each time he even looked at the blond, a piercing sensation of stinging accompanied his gaze. At this point, Steve accepted any excuse to try and evade Tony and to save his heart from its own tormenting, even if it meant that it was only hurting himself more.

However, nothing could hurt more than the very depiction of Tony’s disgusted look if Steve ever told him how he truly felt about him — how he wanted to pepper Tony in kisses until his face went numb; how he wanted to wake up next to him, dreary-eyed and tired but content, every morning; and how he wanted to feel Tony’s fragile form underneath him, pressured by the weight of Steve’s body and his love at the same time as they expressed their passion for each other in the ocean of a bed, that they would share. No matter how much Steve tried to shove away his agonizing thoughts, his mind always wandered back to Tony, whether it was because of a blissful memory that he had just recalled, because of a random line of dialogue that one of his butlers had said that sounded like something Tony would say, or because of the way one of his subjects smiled at him, because Steve knew that Tony had a more irresistible smile than his entire kingdom fused together.

Essentially, Steve was senselessly-in-love with Anthony Edward Stark.

He was weak-at-the-knees at everything the other prince had to ever offer to the world because Steve knew that anything Tony ever presented to the universe had to be his very best — after all, Starks never settled for anything less than absolute perfection.

Ever since the day that Tony had fixed his mother’s family heirloom, a necklace that Steve had accidentally dropped it, the unmistakable truth had crashed down on the blond: That he had fallen in love with the brunet and he had fallen fucking hard. Steve thought that it should have been more evident to himself, after all, he had known about his not-so-secretive crush on his best-friend for years before Tony had offered to fix his mother’s most-prized possession.

Tony had repaired the pendant out of the pure-goodness of his heart, and Steve had always known about the unstated kindness of his actions, no matter how many times Tony had denied it as a favor that he had owed to the Americandian Queen. The straightforward act of thoughtfulness he had exhibited on that day had just confirmed the suspicions Steve was having about his feelings. Since then on, each selfless, charitable, and good-natured deed that Tony conducted, shifted the key another click in the lock to Steve’s heart.

The prince just simply could not stop thinking about the young Stark; each night his dream’s were filled to the brim with the genius’ quirky and sparkling, hazelnut-eyes, and Steve would often be startled awake from his fantasies to the ghost of a kiss tingling on his lips.

Too bad everything he has ever wanted was just within an arm’s reach away but still managed to escape his grasp every time. It drove Steve insane with heartache and agitation.

Steve tried not to let it disconcert him too much, but the repeated excuses and slow withdrawals that Tony had started displaying to the blond recently, dug into his heart more than he wanted to admit to himself. Each lie spoken to Steve’s face, each hasty attempt to suddenly leave when they were keeping each other company, each broken promise to come back as soon as he could — shattered the prince’s spirits and heart, slipping him into a brief period of despair and misery. Nevertheless, he quickly recovered, plastering an unauthentic smile onto his face to convince his parents and the entire castle staff that he was fine, although Steve knew that they could easily see right through his facade.

He wasn’t sure how long he could keep this mask up to conceal against the uncontrollable swell of emotions inside his chest.

There was no way that Steve would go to his grave, before he had found a way to show Tony how much he truly cared for him. If only he had the courage to act upon his feelings before he loses any more chances. But to the blond, it may already be too late.

The disappointment and desolation of his fading existence within Tony’s life, ate away at Steve’s energy and chewed at his mental-stability, wounding him more than any fatal injury from a war’s battlefields ever could. Now, all the prince needed to wait for to give up on his love life, is a ravishing, attractive, and honorable royal who can keep up with Tony’s fast-paced mind, to sweep the genius off his feet and carry him far, far away from Steve.

Judging from the number of invitations that were going out to all the people of the allied kingdoms within S.H.I.E.L.D., Steve’s downfall would probably show up tomorrow evening at the party and snatch Tony out of his life before the blond could even find the other prince within the onslaught of guests coming into the ballroom.

If Steve was going to lose Tony to a random stranger tomorrow, he was going to spend and treasure as much time of the next evening as possible with the brunet first, not caring whether the other prince would hate him for it or not.

✧ ─────── ♡ ─────── ✧

A regal, welcoming-trumpet-melody suddenly rang into the cool, night’s air.

An announcer with a plain white mask, called for the party’s attention, “Everyone, please welcome his royal highness, Prince Steven Grant Rogers!”

Steve observed that the atmosphere had immediately plummeted when he entered the room. The royal sentries who were guarding the Americandian castle’s main entrance, all dropped down to one knee and the guests within the room followed their example by bowing down before the prince.

The blond plastered on a shaky smile and gestured for everyone to rise.

“That won’t be necessary, but thank you for the welcoming,” He told the nearest guard.

“Anytime, your majesty. Do enjoy yourself, tonight.”

With a final nod of his head in appreciation, Steve inhaled deeply and pushed his feet forward and dived into the maze of people.

Steve didn’t expect for this many guests to be attending the ball.

The room appeared to be infinitely crowded with outsiders from different kingdoms, and even different lands. Bodies, limbs, and masks spilled into every cranny and nook of every corner of the castle’s grandest ballroom. There was already a classical song playing, performed by the kingdom’s royal orchestra and many people were already paired up as they drifted across the marble-tiled dance floor. An exquisite, diamond chandelier embellished with assorted rubies and sapphires dangled above everyone’s heads, bathing the party in a dreamlike luminescence that made the shadows casted within the area under it, a wine-purple. The illumination of the light overhead reflected off the varying and unique masks of the people gyrating across the glossy ground, onto the walls around them in splashes of sparkles, almost like stars.

On the other hand, many visitors who were uninterested in dancing, sailed across the room in search for friends, food, drinks, or even a possible date. Even though the party’s many attendants were undeniably different in every feature and form, the range of cultures and races made the aura of the undivided room feel completed. The diversity of S.H.I.E.L.D. as a domain altogether, was truly exhibited within the four walls of a singular ballroom and it empowered Steve to stride forward with a surprising sense of pride for his homeland.

Several minutes later, two unidentifiable guests, a male and a female, strolled towards the blond and one of them waved an energetic arm back and forth as he greeted him.

“Hey, Steve! It’s Bucky!” One of the masked-figures shouted in his face.

The prince gaped at his friend, the dressed-up General of the Americandian Royal Guards, who was holding the hand of a lady that he almost didn’t recognize.

“Bucky? Natasha, is that you?” Steve’s face broke into a relieved grin. “Thank the gods — I swear — I don’t seem to know a single person in this room other than you two. By the way, Buck, who asked the question to come here, tonight?”

The general’s neck began to turn into a tomato-red color.

“I did,” The queen of Redinaroom smiled not-so-innocently, at her husband. “Steve, you know that he’s too flustered to admit that he actually likes these kinds of events.”

Bucky let out an awkward chortle.

“I mean, I was going to ask you either way,” He argued with his wife. “It’s just, I was so far away from you at the time and you just happened to be already riding horseback all the way to Americandia from freaking Redinaroom— so what if you asked first?”

“It means that I wasn’t a coward for wanting to go to a party. An incognito one, in fact; one where your face is covered up so no one will know who you are and thus, won’t be able to openly judge you.” Natasha fired back at the general. “Besides, have you seen all the royal guards who are actually attending and dancing without a care in the world? Why can’t you be more shameless like them, Ты идиот?”

“Yeah, Buck,” Steve grinned, jokingly. “If I can withstand the entire room’s eyes on me while they’re bowing in my presence — because they’re scared I would cut off their heads if they didn’t — why can’t you grow some balls to at least ask out your wife before she has to do it for you?”

“Oh, you’re one to talk, your _majesty_.” Bucky mocked his friend. “Especially with such a rocky and uneventful love life, like yours.”

Steve flushed with anguished embarrassment.

Natasha snickered, “No offense, Steve, but I just wanted to wish you good luck, along with Bucky here, in finding a certain prince, tonight.”

“Natasha, please!” He begged in annoyance.

“Don’t worry, Stevie!” Bucky patted him on the back. “I’m sure you guys will confess your undying love for each other soon enough; but honestly, you really do need all the help that you can get, you oblivious idiot. By the way, where is Tony, anyways?”

The prince scowled but shrugged, trying to act friendly in front of the curious eyes of the many people beginning to crowd around him and his friends.

“I’m not sure; I’m actually looking for him right now, and I’d very much like for that to be kept quiet and to not be declared to the entire party —from the top of the orchestra’s stage — by a soon-to-be-drunk moron, if you wouldn’t mind?”

The redheaded-queen raised an eyebrow at him but gestured her understanding with a flick of her hand as she dragged a cackling Bucky away in the opposite direction.

Steve groaned internally.

His friends could be real assholes sometimes but he wouldn’t trade them for all the gold and riches in the world.

✧ ─────── ♡ ─────── ✧

The prince of Americandia exhaled softly.

Steve was so ready for this party to be over.

By the late evening, the masquerade was already in full-swing as many of the guests attending the party began to shuffle onto the now-full, dance floor. The people who refused to join the waltz, stood to the side of the ballroom, and stared at Steve, clearly waiting for him to pick a partner and participate in the dance. Steve saw a group of young ladies loitering near the grand-stage, giggling as they ogled their eyes and fluttered their eyelashes at him, each one of them anticipating an appropriate time to snatch a chance to speak with the prince.

Steve had no interest in any of them and politely declined each of their on-coming invitations to dance with them. Soon after, countless more women of-all-ages, individually sashayed up to the prince as each one of them attempted to attract or seduce him into spending the night with them. He turned down every single lust-filled and disturbing offer.

After all, his mind was completely set on only one specific guest — who he couldn’t even find in the midst of his own overly-vibrant party.

Accepting defeat — and with the encouragement of his family and friends, Steve stepped onto the pristine, white floor and was immediately swarmed with impatient women, eagerly awaiting him to choose someone to dance with. Ignoring them, he pushed his way past the bodies flooding around him and scanned the room for a dark-brunet prince.

He was nowhere to be found.

Maybe Tony was just preoccupied with entertaining the guests somewhere else inside the castle — he was probably on a totally different floor. Beyond everything, he still is a prince, and some of a royal’s most important duties include conversing with their fellow people and subjects. However, the thought of it still wasn’t enough to satisfy Steve’s unsettling stomach.

True to his word, — as Bucky told him to: “stop moping around,” — Steve turned to the nearest lady, flashed her a heart-melting but professional smile, and began to waltz with her. Throughout the next few songs, he drifted through the flock of masked-attendees while constantly switching partners, and tried to disregard the many high-heeled shoes that accidentally stepped on top of his leather boots.

When Steve glided across the dance floor to greet his next dancing partner, he was immediately met with a pair of the most entrancing eyes he had ever had the chance to witness. It felt like the air was just stolen from his gasping lungs.

Warm, sparkling brown eyes stared up at him as the person currently in his arms smiled and led him across the dance floor, their feet automatically moving in the desired directions. A golden and cardinal-red mask framed the stranger’s eyes and covered the upper half of his face in a glittering composition of iron-like metal and bits of sparkling gems, that twinkled like constellations under the aureate and flourishing glow of the chandelier above their heads. The only things brighter than this person’s mask were the shimmering, hazel eyes that they possessed — the exact ones that were looking up, charmingly, at Steve.

The prince glanced at the stranger again, paying closer attention to his elegant features and continued to let himself be guided through the horde of waltzers and intoxicated guests. Coffee-colored hair ruffled in the breeze that was created as they were swept across the room, and calloused but delicate hands gripped his shoulder and left palm. Everything about this person that he had just laid his eyes upon, was already robbing Steve of his breath and his consciousness to think properly.

Once the final song of the evening started to play, Steve and the brunet slowly soared throughout the ballroom, capturing the curiosity of the people around them as the whole castle seemed to watch them dance. The two of them took each of their steps gracefully during the orchestra’s performance, and gave no thought to the crowd that parted and gave way to their waltz. They passed by jealous onlookers and interested royal families as they maintained their artistic and fluid composure until the very last second of the musical piece.

Finally, Steve and the brunet parted and the prince stopped in front of the stranger to regain his serenity and waited for the other to do the same.

“That was…” The blond surprisingly found himself at a loss of words.

“Perfect.” The unknown person finished for him. “Wasn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Steve breathed happily. “Yeah, definitely.”

“Thanks.” The other smirked. “Where’d you learn to dance like that, by the way?”

Blushing from the compliment, Steve replied, “Just picked it up throughout the years, I guess. Although, I was mostly taught the basics by my parents.”

“Nice. Same, here.”

A comforting silence settled between the two as the guests circled around them began to separate. The pair, unaware of their actions, simply stared into each other’s eyes until they were suddenly interrupted by the clapping that accompanied the King and Queen of Americandia arising onto the grand stage.

King Joseph cleared his throat to call for the room’s attention.

“Thank you, each and every one of you magnificent guests, for coming to our magical masquerade-ball in celebration of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s 45th anniversary!” Whoops and hollers overwhelmed the air and the king raised a glass of wine in order to toast the ceremony along with the people.

“Right now in this land, each one of our kingdoms are rejoicing together for the day that we were united as a whole! In doing so, not only did we become stronger and more powerful but we also bonded together — not just as a coalesced land, but as a family.”

Queen Sarah smiled at the foreigners scattered throughout the ballroom, “Now is the time of the masquerade that we all must remove our masks in unison! Although, we are each as unique as the appearances that we wore this fine night, underneath these intricate disguises lay a cascade of the common faces of humanity, which we are all entwined and connected by, altogether.”

Loud gasps reiterated around the room as many people found that they had been conversing with some of their closest friends throughout the whole duration of the party. Most of the guests were too busy flummoxing at the array of different faces and features throughout their vicinity to join in the light, barely-audible applause commending the queen.

However, neither Steve nor his partner beside him revealed their identities to each other. By now, the two of them were the only people still embracing their masks upon their face.

“May the rest of your evening be filled with happiness and commemoration of this unforgettable event! Thank you all again, for attending our celebration!”

The entire ballroom erupted into applause and cheered as the king and queen bowed, graciously descended the platform, and left.

The orchestra started cleaning their instruments and packing up as the remaining guests exited the ballroom and the castle. A few minutes later, the only people still standing in the ballroom were the castle’s maids and servants, Steve, and the stranger that had not dared to leave the prince’s side.

As the sea of people coursed by Steve, he scoured them all as he searched for Tony, only to give up after the last, few unmasked guests disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Steve suddenly was facing with the one truth that he was absolutely not prepared for this evening: Tony had probably never come to the masquerade ball in the first place.

Another broken promise…

This one pierced through him more painfully than the others usually would. However, Steve was expecting it so it didn’t catch him by surprise as much as he thought it would.

Shoulders slumped, Steve struggled to brush aside his disheartened thoughts and turned to the person standing by his side.

The mystery brunet spoke first, “Hey— Are you okay? You looked like your heart just shattered into a million pieces.”

“Oh, — I’m sorry — I was actually looking for someone that I was desperately hoping would come so I could dance with him. But I guess he never showed up,” Steve sorrowfully sighed.

“I know the feeling,” The person nodded, painfully.

“… Really?”

“Yeah,” The stranger visibly swallowed. “He… — I was supposed to meet up with him tonight, but I couldn’t find him. I suppose he just didn’t want to be seen with me.”

Steve frowned, “Why don’t we both get our minds off of these… situations, that we’re, admittedly and awkwardly in? Do you want to go somewhere that we can — I don’t know — talk in peace? If you would like to, that is.”

“Yeah,” The unknown person — Golden, as Steve started calling him in his head — said. “That’s probably a good idea. I’d love to spend some more time with you, Mr. Americandian Hercules.”

The prince almost rolled his eyes in front of his new, absurdly-beautiful acquaintance. He knew he shouldn’t have worn such a mask as flashy as the red, white, and blue one he already had on.

“Just follow me.”

Steve silently led the way to the nature-infused area that Tony had shown him earlier yesterday, neither person speaking a word as they walked alongside each other. Not long after, they arrived at their destination and carefully entered the placid, undisturbed hidden-hollow.

“That’s definitely interesting. You know about this place, too?” The stranger suddenly asked.

“Yeah, someone brought me here before and I guess I just really liked the peacefulness of it.”

The golden-boy hummed in approval and seemed to be smiling at a memory in his head.

Stopping their journey on the bridge above the relaxed and shallow river, the couple leaned next to each other against the railing, resting their bodies after a long night of commotion.

Steve took the pause that subsided between the two as an advantage to peer closer at the mystery person’s eyes. They were a mesmerizing, chocolate-hazelnut brown, and if Steve looked hard enough, he could count every single one of the stars’ reflection glistening inside them. Each individual flicker of glowing white and yellow, stood out against the midnight-black of their pupils, forming the picture of a practical fairytale inside Steve’s vision and mind — and he just couldn’t help but be absolutely captivated to an infinite extent. The sheer beauty of this stranger was unpredictably but also familiarly overwhelming.

Something was odd about this stranger... Something about those eyes just seemed so familiar... Steve felt like he could stare into them for all of eternity and yet, still feel deprived of their elegance. However, he knew that this wasn’t the first time that he felt this way about someone’s eyes. But he just couldn’t place his finger on when the other time was.

It must be a coincidence, Steve decided.

Their silence pursued deeper into time until the still-masked-brunet beside the blond abruptly punctured it.

“So… This guy that you were waiting for — What’s he like?”

Steve’s breath hitched in his throat but he loosened up his sudden reaction with a deep exhale.

“He’s — just so, indescribably, _perfect_.” He paused. “Sometimes, I swear, there’s no other words in the whole entire, _cosmos_ that could ever accurately describe his undeniable perfection.”

“I could say the same about the guy that I was looking for, but you’re also pretty spectacular. Especially at dancing. And looks-wise, too.” The stranger flirted effortlessly.

Steve cracked a smile but ignored him.

“I was actually planning to confess my love for him tonight, but I never found him amongst all the people in the masquerade.”

He swore he saw the golden-boy’s eyes widen at his unexpected declaration.

“That — That’s exactly what I was going to do this evening, too.” The stranger said as he referred to someone else. “I told myself that I had to tell him the truth and confess my feelings for him, regardless if he returned them or not.”

“It’s just…” Steve suddenly discovered that he gravely needed to rant about the wonders about the New Ironinghamian prince and his insecurity about Tony’s emotions toward him, after bottling it up inside himself for far, too long.

“I love him so much, and we’ve been such good friends — maybe even more at some times, — for so long that it hurts whenever I look at him and remember that he’s still not mine, yet. It pains me whenever I have to call out his name but I still can’t ever add the word, ‘love’, to any of the sentences that I say to him. Even in my dreams, I can never muster up the courage to admit my feelings for him and ironically, I suffer for it so fucking much, both in the real world and in my imagination.”

A nearby owl’s hoots echoed into the crisp, cool air.

“I’m still terrified at the thought that he may have never truly cared for me at all, but I know him well enough to understand that that’s a blatant lie that my self-conscious and uncertain mind keeps coming up with.”

He halted for a second to consider his next words, but not unsure of what to say next.

“But the fact, that he keeps disappearing without a moment’s notice; that he keeps leaving me without giving me a reason as to why; all of these things that he’s been recently doing and every single time that I catch him avoiding me — it just deteriorates my confidence and my chances with him, further.”

He felt better about his heartbroken rambling when he realized that he was talking about his pathetic, lovesick life to a stranger who he would probably never see again after tonight.

“It’s almost the exact same for me,” The brunet whispered as his eyes traveled across the scenery that was splayed in front of them.

“This guy that I’m honestly, _so_ , deeply In love with — Lately, he’s been getting more and more distant — and every time I try to have a proper conversation with him, all I can notice about him is that he’s staring at me with this nameless expression on his face.”

The mystery-person hesitated before pressing on.

“I — I truly can’t tell if it’s disgust, or if it’s irritation, or maybe even hatred, or possibly even all three of them combined — No, wait, I take that last part back.” The masked-figure shook his head. “He’s too perfect… He’s just too good of a person to ever hate anyone, even if it’s someone as troublesome as me.”

“I don’t find you bothersome,” Steve tried to soothe him.

“Well, that’s because you don’t know me well enough,” came the response.

“No, I think I’ve known you long enough to assure you that you’re quite an amazing and compelling person, and anyone would be extremely lucky to be able to date you.” Steve said.

The gold-covered stranger tried not to acknowledge the blond’s kind words because he felt like he didn’t deserve it.

“Thanks, I guess… It still doesn’t guarantee that he’ll feel the same way about me that I do for him…”

Steve’s encouraging smile gradually vanished as he resorted to listening to the beguiling person next to him blither on.

“I wish I could show you this guy that I’m talking about. He’s flawless — literally. He’s unrivaled throughout all of fucking S.H.I.E.L.D., he’s goddamn hot as all hell, undefeated in sparring and horseback-racing; he’s got the best manners out of anyone I know, including my own parents, and my parents are super-strictly professional. He’s the nicest human being that has ever existed on this planet; no, make that the entire fucking universe. His smile not only illuminates my entire fucking world, but I swear it could light up an entire kingdom brighter than the actual fucking sun.”

The masked-figure sighed as if he was grudgingly accepting his unfortunate fate.

“…And I just can’t help falling deeper and deeper in love with him.”

“He sounds like a marvelous person.”

“He… he really is. Too bad he hates me now.” He chuckled sadly.

“Don’t say that,” Steve chided him. “Who could ever hate someone as fascinating and easy-to-talk-to as you?”

“He keeps distancing himself from me, what more proof do I need waved in front of my face for me to realize that he doesn’t want to be around me, anymore?” The mystery-person asked no one in particular. “I guess he still tolerates being near me, but it doesn’t feel the same — it doesn’t feel the way it used to, back when we were younger.”

“Surprisingly, I could say that my situation is almost exactly the same as yours.”

The prince and the masked-person fell into another period of silence but the chirps of the crickets hiding in the tall grass filled the soundless void that they had left behind.

“Huh, I guess we’re both just chasing daydreams, aren’t we?” The stranger painfully smiled.

The two of them simultaneously stared off into the night sky.

“Yeah, I guess we really are.” Steve sighed.

Although Steve felt a special and surreal connection with this stranger, he knew that his heart truly, and only belonged to a certain Prince Anthony Edward Stark.

Suddenly, the grand clocktower that resided in the tallest tower of the Americandian castle, rung deafeningly, signaling midnight had occurred and the start of a new day had begun.

“Oh, right. I forgot,” The stranger recalled. “We were supposed to take off our masks hours ago, weren’t we?”

“Yeah, we were.” Steve agreed. “Would you like to do it now?”

The masked-figure delayed his reply for a minute, “Sure — But don’t be expecting anything fancy, okay?”

“Uhm, alright. But why would I —”

“Please — Just, promise me that if you’re feeling disappointed that you’ll hide it from me. And hide it well.” He pleaded desperately, his brown eyes full of distress. “Please. Just promise me.”

Steve gave his consent, reluctantly, “Okay. I promise.”

The brunet turned to face Steve and the two of them reached up and removed their masks at the same time.

“Tony?!” The prince almost didn’t believe his own eyes.

“Steve?!” Tony began to panic. “What the fucking hell?! You — you were next to me this entire time? — Oh my fucking, god… You heard my confession about yo—“

The brunet slapped a hand over his own mouth.

“Wait, you were talking about me all this time?” Steve’s eyes widened in shock.

“I know and I’m so fucking sorry — I know you don’t feel the same way about me and I just want to apolo—“

“Tony, hold on…” The blond told him, calmingly. “This is perfect beca—“

“No!” Tony exclaimed, his whole body quivering. “This isn’t perfect because I just forced all of my feelings onto you and I didn’t even think about how you would react and—“

Steve finally shut him up by smashing his lips onto the other prince’s, causing the two of them to stumble into the bridge’s railing.

Holy shit.

If he was imagining this or if this was all just a dream, Steve begged his brain not to stop now.

So this is what all those romance novels were raving about. Now the blond really knew why there were so many kissing scenes in all of those books that he’s ever read, because this — _this_ feeling — is otherworldly.

Steve’s senses ignited sparks inside of his chest and he felt his nerves numbing the rest of his body and only allowing him to focus on the sweet sensation that was taking over his lips. His eyelids instantly fluttered shut as their lips shifted against each other’s, sending another round of adrenaline-spikes shivering down his spine in a ghostly pattern that Steve undoubtedly knew he could get used to. The prince felt Tony relax under his grip and wrapped his arms around the genius’ neck, stroking the back of it in order to conciliate him further.

“Hey… Look at me — This is perfect because all that stuff that I was chattering away about this extraordinary human being… Well, it was all about you, Tony.”

“What…?” The other’s voice had diminished into a hushed tone. “Wait… really?”

“Of course,” Steve smiled down at him. “Who else in this world, would I be talking about?”

“Oh… But what you said about me, Steve — have I really been ignoring you that much?” Tony’s eyes started to water. “Oh my fucking god. Look, I’m really, really, sorry about avoiding you, it’s just—“

“Tony.”

“I swear I didn’t mean to—“

“Tony.”

“I was just so unsure of whether or not you still wanted to be friends with me even though I wanted to be so much more at that time — and I still do—“

“Tony!”

The brunet slammed his jaw shut.

The blond’s eyes twinkled and he closed them as he bent down to press light kisses across Tony’s nose and forehead.

“I hope you don’t mind me doing this…”

“No! I mean, you’re fine. You’re just perfect, actually… Maybe even more than perfect—“

“Tony. Listen to me, please.”

The younger prince stared up at him obediently.

“I could never hate you, why on Earth would you ever think that?” Steve cupped his cheeks with his hands. “In fact, it’s quite the opposite… because I love you.”

He felt exultant.

The person that he had been madly in love with had been been by his side all along, happily talking the night away with him, unbeknownst to the world that they were right there next to each other, all this time. How long have they been just standing here, pouring out their emotions to each other without being aware of it and not acting upon them?

Way too damn long, as far as Steve thought.

Especially when he could be doing this.

Steve went back to pecking his lips across Tony’s ethereal face and when he felt the brunet tense up under him, he planted his mouth firmly against the genius’ temple and softly dragged it down to his jawline without lifting it off his skin. Immediately, Tony shuddered, biting back a moan, and began to fall limp in Steve’s arms and the blond cradled his loosened form against his own body. He took this as an opportunity to run his hands through Tony’s feathery and silky chocolate hair, rubbing his hands in certain spots along the brunet’s scalp that helped relax him even more. When Steve pulled back, the other prince in his arms whined weakly and clung onto his torso, refusing to let go.

“Are you done yet?” He questioned the brunet with one eyebrow perked up at him. “Cause I’d much rather be kissing you with my entire life force right now, than be forced to hear you downgrade yourself like this.”

“I — I just can’t believe it…” Tony said. “All this time, you were talking about how much you love _me_. _Me_ , out of all the beings that exist on this Earth.”

Steve blushed, “That’s right. And you were babbling about me, all this time, were’t you?”

Tony’s neck and ears turned slightly pink.

“Yeah…”

“Well, I guess the feeling’s mutual, isn’t it now?”

The prince of New Ironingham laughed gingerly, “Definitely. Or at least, I hope so.”

“Tony…”

“It’s just…” He faltered. “You love me. You _actually_ do?”

“More than you could ever know.”

“Steve — I’m so fucking sorry for evading you and trying to avoid you… I was just so scared of what you would think of me if you ever found out that I had this huge-ass crush on you. And I thought that if you did, you would probably leave and move to another kingdom, oceans away from me, and I didn’t want to lose you that way…”

“Tony, you could never lose me because I promised myself that I would to be with you until the end of the line. And I’m sorry for being really distant, lately. I guess, I just didn’t want you to notice _my_ huge-ass crush on you.”

Steve lifted his hand to tuck back a short strand of brown hair behind the brunet’s ear.

“I love you. Just so you know.”

“I love you, too. And I’m sorry again for everything—“

“Tony. Shut up.”

A slight breeze gusted through the space in-between the two as they locked their hands together.

“I know that we’ve been complete fucking idiots for practically all of our lives, but let’s skip the apologies for now and just get to the good part.” Steve remarked. “So? We’ve been unintentionally shunning each other out but that doesn’t change how much you mean to me, and hopefully, how much I mean to you, as well. It’s alright now, and it’s all fair. We hurt each other, we avoid each other — well now it’s up to the both of us to fix and heal each other. And what better way to do it, than this?”

Steve raised their intertwined hands up to his lips and kissed the top of Tony’s hand which was still laced in between the blond’s fingers.

“Is this all okay to you?” He stopped to wait for the brunet’s answer.

“Definitely.”

The prince beamed and continued to spread tiny kisses all over his partner’s hand until he saw that Tony’s attention had diverged onto something else. Steve followed the genius’ gaze up to ultimately admire the scintillating stars above them, although he would much rather prefer to explore and fix his sight on the person directly beside him.

“This is so much more better than my daydreams,” Tony exhaled suddenly in faint, relieved puffs of air.

Steve grinned lovingly, “Oh, so you admit that you daydream about me?”

Tony groaned as he eventually comprehended what he had just said.

“Okay, fine… Maybe — just maybe, — I do…”

“Don’t worry, Tones. You’re not the only one,” The blond teased affectionately.

Tony huffed adorably — in Steve’s opinion —in triumph.

“That’s what I thought.”

✧ ─────── ♡ ─────── ✧

**Author's Note:**

> ✧ ─────── ♡ ─────── ✧
> 
> "There is only one thing that can cause and cure depression — sometimes even at the same time — in this world: Marvel Cinematic Universe movies." - Cat__Astrophe
> 
> ✧ ─────── ♡ ─────── ✧
> 
> ( ˘ ³˘)💗
> 
> 𝒞𝒶𝓉__𝒜𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓅𝒽𝑒
> 
> ✧ ─────── ♡ ─────── ✧


End file.
